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The quarterly Songwriters Circle Showcase is an extension of the monthly Songwriters Circle program, organized by Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia, and will consist of artists who participate in the monthly Circle. The Showcase event is structured similarly to “in the round” events, with each songwriter introducing themselves and their song, which will be performed with or without accompaniment. The songwriter will then hold a discussion about the piece–the origins of the song, its structure, and inspiration–and take questions.
Jennifer Gillenwater has been writing songs and performing with various bands including Family Ties, Turkey Tracks Trio, Nowhere Valley, the Playwrights, and 
more recently, Jen & Barb, and the Songwriters of Highlands Appalachian (SOHA) group – in the Tri-Cities area for more than twenty years. Her love of music began early, at the age of 11, when she began playing the flute and singing in the church choir with her sister and father. She picked up guitar in high school and then began writing poetry and snippets of songs. She continued playing flute and guitar into her twenties and thirties but was too busy with her studies and then teaching career to do much. Her instruments began to gather dust in a forgotten closet until she turned forty. Her mother gifted her first dulcimer and she began to learn mountain music, folk, and gospel songs. She began playing with her cousin, Roger Norris, at Flat Springs Baptist Church, in the old Beech Mountain community of Avery County, N.C. They formed “Family Ties,” playing at local festivals and restaurants, as well as churches. She remembers very well when her first song came, as she was hiking on the Appalachian Trail on Iron Mountain in Johnson County, Tenn., and came to a memorial for an old hermit named Nick Grindstaff. The memorial read, “Lived Alone; suffered alone; died alone.” She couldn’t get the words out of her mind as she continued doing her section hike through Tennessee. She read about him in her AT book when she stopped to get water or rest, and before long, she had a complete song! After that, many more songs came, and she was hooked on songwriting. Her husband, Michael, and her moved to Abingdon in 2024, and she was thrilled when she met Mary Munsey and the Songwriters of Highland Appalachia. She is having fun playing at different venues, such as Sweet Bay Brewery, the Appalachian Trail Center in Damascus, local libraries, the Highlands Festival Tunes at Noon, and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. She continues writing and sometimes enters songwriting competitions, when she’s not hiking or gardening. Her life is full, and she is grateful.
Mary Munsey, from Abingdon is the retired music director at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC). Her music career includes teaching, piano 
accompanying for church and school choirs, bassoonist in symphonies, bass, mandolin and guitar playing in acoustic groups and singing and playing saxophone and keyboard in Tri-Cities area bands. She’s also been writing and performing original music for years locally and nationally including multiple performances at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Carter Fold, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and bluegrass festivals including Ralph Stanley’s Festival in Coeburn, Va. Her song “Nine Days Old” won the 2010 Woody Guthrie International Folk Songwriting Contest and she performed her originals at Woody Fest in Okemah, Okla. on July 15, 2010. She placed second in the IBMA’s (International Bluegrass Music Association) lesson plan contests in Nashville for both 2009 and 2010. She won first place in the Neuse River Songwriting Contest in 2013 with “This Side of the Wall” and performed at the festival near Wilmington N.C. Her song “Eight Lives to Spare” was a winner in the Smoky Mountains Songwriting Competition in 2019 and she placed twice in the Gathering in the Gap festival. Currently, she’s facilitating the regional Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia (SOHA) group which meets monthly at the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace in Abingdon and leads the monthly Songwriters Circle held on the second Saturday at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol. She’s also a professional saxophonist currently performing with the Tri-Cities based Samantha Gray & the Jukebox Jam Band which specializes in Soul, R&B, Motown, 80s pop and high energy fun!
Originally from the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee, Gerald Sheppard has actively pursued his passion of music since he was a child when he 
started beating around on the family upright piano at the age of five. As a graduate from East Tennessee State University, he worked in the Engineering Division of a large chemical company for many years before taking early retirement. He has actively played fingerstyle guitar since he was a teen, and has worked as a guitarist, playing “cocktail” guitar music in venues and for special occasions for many years. His instrumental music consists of both popular covers and original compositions. Gerald also enjoyed a successful guitar-building career for twenty-five years. His high-end instruments are world-renowned as some of the finest guitars in the world. In 2005, one of his instruments was used as the cover model for the Grammy Award winning CD for Best Instrumental Album, “Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar” (an instrumental guitar tribute to Henry Mancini). Gerald began writing and performing his own lyrical songs in 2018. His interest is primarily in writing ballads and story songs. He currently incorporates them into his performances in local venues where they are well received for their often emotionally touching and heartwarming content. His high-resolution content and music may be enjoyed on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@gdshepp
Led by Mary Munsey, a local musician, educator and founder of Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia, the weekly Songwriters Circle is open to songwriters of all ages and skill levels. The Circle encourages participants to share songs, brainstorm ideas, and support one another in their creative endeavors. Songwriter Circles are held the second Saturday of each month at the museum, 2-5 p.m. There is no cost to participate.
“The Songwriters Circle aims to foster a collaborative environment for songwriting,” said Munsey. “Importantly, aspiring songwriters do not need to play an instrument to join in the fun.”
The Songwriters Circle not only provides an opportunity for performance and networking, but also emphasizes the importance of clarity and storytelling in songwriting. The group’s mission is to encourage creativity, introduce songwriting shows to regional audiences, and elevate the appreciation of songwriting as a valuable art form.
About Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia
Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia is led by Mary Munsey, a local musician and educator, recently retired from Virginia Highlands Community College. The program offers a great deal of flexibility in its format for attendees, with varied songwriting interests and abilities. Some of the attendees play instruments and some are curious about songwriting and the process. Lyrics can sometimes only pare up with others that play instruments and put music with the words. Some writers don’t sing, but enjoy hearing others perform their songs. Some of the performances can be a cappella. Some members of the group write one to three songs between sessions and some write more. Sometimes as busy as life gets, writers don’t get to write new material between meetings. We don’t pressure anyone to write, and we don’t criticize anyone. We treat each other with respect. We don’t discuss politics, use profanity, or write antagonistic lyrics.
The focus is not on the beauty of the voice or skill of the instrumentation, but the clearness of the pronunciation and the effect of the song. We work on making sure the audience can hear every word. We are not professional musicians but we are creators of musical stories and that is the beauty of it. The sessions are open to anyone visiting the museum. Genres are not specified. Songs can be instrumental, folk, country, bluegrass, Americana, blues, humorous, jazz, R&B, electronic, and even pop, to name a few. Writers are allowed to bring CDs for sale and to accept tips after performances.
For more information about the Songwriters Showcase and Songwriters Circle programs, visit the Events page at BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org. For more information on Songwriters of Highlands Appalachia, HighlandsAppalachia.org.
